In the food vending industry, food warming containers are commonly used for maintaining perishable foods at desired temperatures for periods of time. For example, in vending stands at sports stadiums and arenas food warming containers are used to maintain perishables such as hot dogs in a predetermined temperature range for a period of time. Additionally, food warming containers can also be used as mobile oven units, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,030, for maintaining the temperature of perishable foods, during transport, for significant periods of time.
In the mobile oven unit shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,030, there is a food compartment (container) with an access opening, and a cover unit for closing the access opening in the food compartment. The cover unit has a pair of pivotal doors for allowing selected access to the food compartment. The compartment walls include heating cables which can be energized from an external source (e.g., the vehicle's power source), and which transmit heat to the compartment's walls, to thereby effect heating of the food within the compartment.
In the applicant's experience, the type of cover structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,030, i.e., a cover structure with pivotally mounted doors for allowing access to the food container, is typical of cover structures for the types of food warmers found at vending stands at stadiums and arenas. Typically such food warmers comprise a container with an access opening at its top, and pivotally mounted doors for allowing access to the interior of the container. The food warmer unit may or may not have a separate heating means, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,521,030. From a health standpoint, it is important that key components of such food warming units be made of materials (e.g., stainless steels) which can be effectively cleaned to the extent required to comply with prevalent health rules and regulations.